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Subbudu passes away

Staff Reporter

P. V. Subramaniam

NEW DELHI: Veteran music and dance critic P. V. Subramaniam, better known as Subbudu, passed away on Thursday. He was 91.

Celebrated as much for his felicity with language as for his unflinching criticism of highbrow artistes, Subbudu was the music and dance critic of The Statesman for 60 years. Known as a pioneer in dance and music criticism, he was equally popular for his writings in Tamil journals.

He lived the early part of his life in Burma, where he took an active part in theatre activities and provided musical accompaniment to drama companies.

A harmonium and keyboard player of note, he was also a composer. After his family returned to India in the wake of the upheavals in Burma during World War II, he took up a job in the Union Finance Ministry in New Delhi.

A rare musician with the ability to play Carnatic music on the harmonium, he accompanied well-known musicians and dancers, including the doyenne of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, Yamini Krishnamurti.

For the past few years he had been ailing and increasingly confined to bed. Trips to the hospital and a major intestinal operation had limited his mobility. The end came at 7-15 on Thursday evening. The last rites will be performed at Nigambodh Ghat here on Friday morning.

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